Can You Hear Me Now?

Over the last year we noticed that Lily was having some problems with her hearing. She often asked us to turn up the volume on things claiming that she couldn't hear it (even when it was pretty loud). We also noticed her often saying, "What" or "Huh" or "What did you say?" To be honest we sort of just figured that this was a quirky preschooler trait. But we did mention it to her doctor and in May they sent us to have Lily's hearing tested. We were all shocked when the results showed that she had mild hearing loss in one year and mild to moderate hearing loss in the other hear. My poor little girl- apparently she really was having a hard time hearing!

Over the summer she saw the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor twice. Both times she had fluid in her ears (which was causing her hearing loss). After the second visit we decided to have surgery to drain the fluid from her ears and put tubes in (to continue to drain the fluid). We just weren't willing to take the chance that her hearing loss could become permanent.

So two weeks ago we took Lily in to have the surgery. She did wonderfully- my brave little girl. The procedure was quick and easy and she was only unconscious for a short period of time. In the recovery room she got a little teary after she first saw us and then was a little drowsy for maybe 45 minutes, but that was it! I'll never forget the sight as we turned the corner in the recovery room and I saw her sweet little head just barely peeking above the hospital bed/cart. She looked so little and fragile. In reality she's a pretty brave, tough little girl. By the time we got home and she finally got to eat she was running around and back to her old self.

Flash forward two weeks and on Sunday Lily woke up with dried blood running out of one of her ears. Obviously we were concerned, but the bleeding had stopped and she seemed fine so we waited until the ENT office was open the next morning and we called then. They scheduled an appointment for us for the next day and told us to watch her closely for any signs of infection. She was fine that whole day when suddenly late in the afternoon she got very sick very quickly. She was running a fever, she felt nauseous, and she was asking to go to bed (at 5p.m.). Of course we were pretty concerned and nervous that she could have an infection (and that it could spread and turn into something much worse). So we called her ENT office (and dealt with the most rude, inconsiderate doctor I've ever talked to, who was on call and clearly didn't want to deal with us). I'll spare you the details, but it led to a frustrating, long experience trying to get some answers. Finally our pediatrician's office had us go to the ER. After a long wait in the hospital and some vomiting in the nurse's station we finally got to see someone. In the end they put Lily on antibiotics and some pain medication and the next day (yesterday) we went back to see the ENT doctor that did Lily's surgery (not the rude one on the phone). Turns out that Lily's body rejected the tube in one of her ears (this is what caused the bleeding). Apparently this happens in 1 our of 100 children (lucky us). The tube is now filled with blood and not functional. There is no infection right now, thankfully, and no fluid in her ear. It turns out that while the bleeding was clearly a problem with her ear the rest of her illness is just a virus. We have to go back to the doctor in a month to make sure that her ear with the "bad" tube doesn't develop fluid. If it does then the doctor will have to go back in, remove the bad tube, and replace it. Oh please pray that this isn't the case!

So that's the short version of the story of our little Lily and her poor little ears. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for her (and us) throughout this little journey (hopefully it ends here)!